


barely moving then you're running wild

by hexburn (thestormapproaches)



Series: Catching Fire, Catching Cold | LEC Hanahaki [8]
Category: League of Legends RPF
Genre: (its vander), Arctic Starflower, Clover - Freeform, Cute, Father Figures, Fluff, Hanahaki Disease, Late Night Conversations, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Phone Calls & Telephones, Worried Kikis, kind of? they're video chatting, video chatting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:35:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22471918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thestormapproaches/pseuds/hexburn
Summary: They call each other every night. Like clockwork, these two. Ever since Mateusz left Rogue and Finn stayed, they've called each other every night.So what makes this call different?
Relationships: Mateusz "Kikis" Szkudlarek/Finn "Finn" Wiestål
Series: Catching Fire, Catching Cold | LEC Hanahaki [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1472042
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	barely moving then you're running wild

**Author's Note:**

> sorry for writing delay but uni sucks

_ It will only take a little while _

_ ‘Til your highs will become your lows _

**_Barely moving then you're running wild_ **

_ Catching Fire like you're Catching Cold _

As soon as the time strikes 18,00 and the tone begins to sound, a swift hand shuts it off. These calls are regular, almost daily, so Oskar has no idea why Finn isn’t ready to answer it. To his credit, Oskar only mutters a little bit about kids these days - not that he can really complain, Mateusz is only two years younger than him - when Finn hollers from across the gaming house that he’ll be there in a moment.

“He’ll be here in a moment,” Oskar says plainly to the Pole on the other end of the Discord video call.

“Thanks,” Mateusz says back. The silence is grateful that they don’t try to make awkward small talk in the moments between when the call is made and when Finn comes flying into the room; instead, Mateusz busies himself with adjusting the items behind him, making a cute backdrop for the video chats he loves to have with Finn. Most things are in their place. The small mug Finn gave him and the cute pink letter-board reading  _ “misiu mati” _ in sleek black font are both arranged perfectly on the shelf, and a few more Star Wars trinkets round out the group. Mateusz puts away a few spare pens before taking out a small mirror and checking that his hair is only tastefully messy.

Thankfully, it isn’t long before Finn comes back, and Mateusz smiles at his beautiful boyf- not boyfriend. His coincidentally very handsome friend returns just in time, with a bowl full of something and a cute, soft smile on those pretty, pretty lips. 

“Hey,” says Mateusz plainly.

“Hey,” Finn answers with a giggle and a light cough. The mug he drinks from was a gift from Mateusz, emblazoned with “Poe and Finn forever” in reference to the Star Wars characters, though the Poe has long since been scratched out and taped over with a label that says “Mati” instead. It’s Finn’s favourite mug, and if it didn’t need to be washed he would use it every single day. It’s also Mateusz’s favourite thing to see Finn using ever since he’d bought it as a parting gift, and a promise for both of them that they would never forget the other.

“How have you been?” Mateusz asks, waiting patiently for an answer while Finn plugs in and puts on his headset.

“Good,” Finn responds simply with a shy glance over to where Oskar sits at his computer playing soloQ and Kacper curls up on his chair, watching something and looking adorable bundled up in a thick, soft blanket.  _ What a cute kid, _ Finn thinks about his jungler. He thinks something much less innocent about the man on his screen for a short few moments before his self-control and a floral tickle in his throat force him to stop. “I’ve been a bit sick,” Finn says as he coughs into his arm, “but whatever.” Still, he can’t stop a slight shiver from coursing through his body.

Mateusz gives him a look of concern. “Hey, if you’re sick you need to stay warm!” 

With a teasing but tired smile, Finn just shrugs and plays with his collarbones, tugging and pinching and scratching at the skin there. “I’ll be fine, it’s not even that bad...” 

He proceeds to fall into a sneezing fit, which discredits his point entirely. Mateusz fondly smiles at him. “Go get a blanket! Profit’s old room probably has some, just take one,” he advises, remembering how their teammate had always kept piles and piles of blankets and pillows and plushies in his room, making it the perfect place to stay warm or steal something fuzzy from. 

Begrudgingly, Finn sighs, but nods and turns to someone next to him. “Oskar! Keep Mati company for a bit, I’m gonna go get a blanket,” he says. Mateusz chuckles when Oskar takes a peek at him, then goes back to playing soloQ on the computer next to Finn’s, and Finn scuttles away with a cough that shakes his shoulders.

Silently, Mateusz worries.

_ “So, you still like him?” _ Oskar asks in Polish once Finn disappears.

Mateusz jolts and blushes, though he would never admit to it.  _ “Sh-shut up! I’ve been teaching Finn Polish, he might understand you!” _

_ “It’s fine, it’s fine,” _ Oskar says with an easygoing, teasing laugh.  _ “He doesn’t understand that much yet, anyway.” _

_ “There’s still a risk,” _ Mateusz mutters. Oskar chuckles at Mateusz’s pout.

_ “Whatever. So, when are you going to tell him?” _

_ “Never,” _ Mateusz mumbles, more sadly this time.  _ “Don’t want to ruin anything, you know? Too risky.” _

Oskar just shrugs. _ “You’ll never know if you don’t try,” _ he advises wisely with his extra two years of experience.  _ “Even if it doesn’t work out, both of you are mature enough to remain friends.” _

Mateusz shrugs. 

_ “Don’t be afraid to take a chance, Mateusz. I promise you, it’s not a delusion.” _ Mentally, Oskar sighs. If only all of his dear life-students had such reasons to have real, genuine hope. Not just false dreams, but true, genuine possibility - and, if Mateusz just made a move, Oskar knows it would be a certainty.

He knows what sickness ails Finn.

Patiently, though, with the wisdom of a man confident in his own love life, Oskar returns to playing soloQ, letting Mateusz think it over. The signs are clear already - at least to Oskar, and probably also Kostas, whom Oskar has complained to about Finn and Mateusz time and time again - and they will only become more clear as Finn’s cough and his chills get worse and worse. He just prays Mateusz won’t be too dense to pick up on the signs of hanahaki.

A few more seconds go by before Finn returns with a blanket around his shoulders. As soon as he sits back down, he hurriedly puts his headset back on and chirps a cheerful greeting to Mateusz, suppressing another cough.

“Welcome back,” Mateusz answers with a smile. “Wow, you must be really sick if you’re eating soup... Don’t die on me, okay?” he teases.

“I won’t, I won’t,” Finn quickly reassures him, He coughs again and swallows down a clover petal with a panic. It tastes vaguely sweet but scratches in his throat, and he needs an extra spoonful of chicken broth to ensure it goes down.

“Good,” Mateusz says, and, before he can stop himself, “I would miss you.”

_ Ah, fuck _ . Mateusz is terribly lucky he doesn’t blush brightly.

But Finn grins giddily in response to his slip-up, murmuring, “I’d miss you, too,” in a soft, almost-loving tone. He then adds, “I already do, kind of... Too bad we don’t have any extra top-laners in Rogue anymore... I might have been able to play in Poland for a week.”

“Hey, don’t play down to me, you need to focus on LEC. I’ll work my way up to you,” says Mateusz firmly.

“Kind of hard to not be in a league for an entire year, though... are you doing okay?” As quietly as possible, Finn coughs again, wincing as a fluffy bunch of leaves catch in his throat.

“Yeah, actually something really big happened last week.”

Finn swallows thickly and gulps more soup to wash down the clover clumps choking him. “Ah, really? What’s up?” He sounds a bit squeaky.

“I got signed!”

Their faces light up in unison.

“Congrats!” Finn chirps, and his smile is almost blindingly bright, so overjoyed. His blue eyes light up so prettily even in the dim light of a mere computer screen, almost shining with happiness, and Mateusz feels his heart fall even deeper in love. “I’m so happy for you! Ah, this is perfect, I can’t believe it! Where are you going?”

Mateusz can’t help but grin at his beloved’s enthusiasm. “Illuminar, so Ultraliga” he answers, “it’s so great... I’m so excited. And the season ends early enough that I’ll probably be able to go watch you play in playoffs.”

“You’re too confident,” says Finn with a shy giggle, massaging his own shoulder and collarbones in the utmost expression of his embarrassment.

That laugh and that shyness is just perfect to Mateusz, though, and he teases, “It’s not too much confidence, just that I know you’re more than good enough.”

“Matiiiii,” Finn whines. Mateusz just chuckles.

Silence falls over them for a little while, like a blanket of downy snow even atop Finn’s own baby-blue blanket. It is warm and comfortable and borders on cuddly, with the person across the computer screen from each of them; they’re safe and protected together in an emotional, social sense, which is at the very least better than an impossible-to-achieve physical closeness right now. A spoon quietly clinks against Finn’s bowl, and he eats more of his soup while Mateusz watches with the sweetest smile.

“LEC is coming up in a few days, no?” Mateusz asks when the silence seems ready to be broken. “Are you feeling well enough to compete or should I come to visit you and buy some medicine?” He’ll probably visit anyway if he can get out of scrims for the weekend since the travel wouldn’t be terribly far and the cost certainly would be worth it to see Finn.

Again, Finn coughs, his condition worsening drastically from when they had begun the call until now, despite the steam rising from his soup and his mug of warm tea. Worriedly, Mateusz purses his lips. But, “ah,” Finn garbles out, “I’ll be fine. It would be nice to see you, though, if you don’t have scrims...”

“We don’t scrim on the weekend.”

They both grin, though Finn looks much more pained.

He begins to cough anew, this time harder and fiercer. It doesn’t take long before Finn is keeled over, hiding his face out of the webcam’s sight and coughing violently. All Mateusz can see is Finn’s shoulders shaking and Oskar’s kind hand patting Finn’s back.

Then, almost as suddenly as it had started, Finn coughs something out - Mateusz can hear it thud wetly against a plastic-bag-lined rubbish bin - and he sits back up, smile reddened with the slightest hint of blood and a small collection of three tiny, white petals on his lips.

Mateusz is just as breathless as Finn.

“Sorry about that,” Finn murmurs, his blue eyes watery from his coughing fit.

“No, no, it’s fine. Hey, um...”

“Yeah?” Finn asks, eyes wide now, the blanket tight around his shoulders to prevent additional residual shudders.

“Do you have hanahaki?”

Finn’s face turns pale.

It takes him several moments to find words, as surprised and worried he is, but he miraculously doesn’t cough at all until he spits out the words, “Yes, yes... I... yeah. How did you...”

“There are petals on your lips.”

“Ah.” Hurriedly, Finn wipes his mouth with a tissue.

Watching Finn’s lips and having such hope sends a smooth yet jumpy rush of excitement and nervousness shooting through Mateusz’s body like lightning. He’s so close, he’s so close to either breaking his own heart or having a dream come true. “Who-” he begins, then, “sorry, um... Can I ask who you have it for?”

Finn just smiles, but his smile isn’t shy sunshine anymore - it looks much more strained and worried than anything good.. “I might as well just tell you,” he murmurs. Oskar’s gentle hand comes into Mateusz’s view again, resting on Finn’s back, steadying him and giving him encouragement to speak up. “It- it’s-”

“You can do it,” Oskar murmurs quietly, just loudly enough that both Finn and Mateusz can hear him. Mateusz isn’t entirely sure who the words are meant for.

“It’s for you,” Finn mumbles.

Did Mateusz really hear Finn right?

“W-wait, did you-”

“It’s for you,” Finn says louder, firmer, his shoulders shaking even despite the blanket. He looks terrified, and Mateusz knows the feeling. The feeling of having a sickness incurable by all means except for surgery and heartbreak. The feeling of your heart missing its other half, yet never knowing whether the other half it yearns for will actually fit. The feeling of not knowing where your love stands in the greater scheme of life. The feeling of having your life and your love on a balancing scale, neither safe for long.

“I have hanahaki for you, too,” Mateusz murmurs, as soon as he recovers from the surprise. He doesn’t want to make Finn wait, and neither does his own disease. His eyes immediately fall to the small, five-petalled arctic starflower planted in the mug Finn had gifted him back when they were still on the same team. Mateusz had plucked it from his throat quite some time ago, when they’d just vowed to stay in touch with each other. No one had done that before with him. To Mateusz, it feels like he’s had a hundred different teams, a hundred different homes, a hundred different friends who all left him.

And then there was Finn, who held on and never let go.

How could Mateusz stop himself from catching hanahaki then?

On the other side of Mateusz’s computer screen, all the way in Berlin, Finn is stunned.

“No- that can’t-” he stutters in disbelief. A gorgeous smile crests over his face like an unfurling flower in the warmth of the morning. “Really?” Finn asks, so full of hope.

“Y-yeah,” Mateusz says, unable to keep down a smile. He lifts up the mug with a bit of soil and fertiliser and the pristine, pure white flower inside. “I picked this one about a month ago. It’s already starting to grow roots.”

“It’s beautiful,” Finn murmurs dreamily. “ _ Skogsstjärna _ , right?”

“I’m not sure. Is that the Swedish name for it?”

“Mmhmm,” Finn nods. “I have clover.”

“Oh, that’s cool.” He kicks himself for sounding so disinterested, but pushes on. “Clover grew a lot in the summer in my hometown. It’s called  _ koniczyna  _ in Polish.” Even the name itself brings back memories of happy summer weekends spent playing in the meadows near his grandparents’ home. Now, that same word will echo with sky-blue eyes and perfectly pink lips and fluffy chocolate-coloured hair through Mateusz’s mind, evermore.

“That is cool,” Finn agrees, smiling so happily. Joy seems to radiate from his eyes, sparkling brightly like stars. “That is cool,” he repeats. As he trails off, his mind wandering gleefully through meadows of starflower and clover, his lips curve up in a soft, sweet expression of love.

“I lo-” Mateusz begins, entirely ready to say those three little words that will have them coughing up pearls and ending their hanahaki with love.

But Finn quickly says, “Wait!” 

Mateusz looks at him with confusion scrawled across his face.

“I- I want to say it in person,” Finn murmurs, shyly playing with the ends of the blanket and the collar of his t-shirt. “If we can.”

Now, Mateusz smiles just as sweetly. His beloved looks so, so adorable with all of his nervous tics on full display. It’s terribly endearing. “Of course we can,” he says, “I’ll be there for your LEC games, and we can go do something fun together afterward?”

“Yes,” Finn says, beaming, “that sounds perfect.”

“Good.”

They spend another few minutes just gazing into each others’ eyes, giggling and chatting and teasing and talking about nothing in particular and everything at once, and the cuteness of it all nearly has Oskar gagging. But they’re young and in love, so Oskar can’t complain. Soon enough, their chatter winds down and Finn’s eyelashes start to flutter with sleepiness.

“Goodnight, Finni. Sleep well.”

“Goodnight to you too, Mati. See you soon.”

The only deviation from their normal goodbye routine is now a kiss blown to each other, and both Mateusz and Finn couldn’t be happier.

**Author's Note:**

> just wanted to let you know that the "misiu mati" pink signboard is real and kikis has or had one  
> he's a softe boy  
> follow him on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kikis_1205/


End file.
